We Came For Woodstock
by Astrid-Myrna
Summary: Late summer, 1969. A group of misfits and hitchhikers pile into the bed of a Ford pick-up truck and head down the I-80 to Bethel, New York for the concert of their lives. For some, it's their first. For others, their last. Rated for sex, drugs, & swearing
1. Chapter 1: Music

**A/N: Lyrics used from "Wind Chimes" from the **_**Smiley Smile**_** album by the Beach Boys.**

July 15th, 1970

_ Hangin' down…from—my—windo-o-ow, those are my wind chi-i-imes-s-s-s…_

The sweet melody floated in their little one-room apartment, encircling the gargantuan dream catcher they bought from a Chippewa tribe in Montana. Dozens of black-and-white photos caught them sleeping under the great redwood trees of California, riding mules in sun-bitten lands Mexico, strolling down the streets of Stockholm when they visited her father for Christmas, and in Brazil, where they had met…

…_On a warm breeze the li'l bells…tinklin' wind chi-i-i-imes…_

_wind chi-i-i-i-WINnd chi-i-i-i-imes_

A grainy picture of his grandfather and brother, stained from the endless rain in that tropical country. Hung next to that picture was his straw hat one of his oldest friends had given him when he left with her to live in the United States. Under the hat was his worn set of bongos his brother bought for him on his trip to Cuba before the embargo, and leaning on it was her tambourine. A gust of wind blew through the open front door, knocking some leaves off of the potted orange tree onto their pile of quilts and pillows.

_It's so peaceful,_

_Close to a lullaby._

Warm, misty rain fell on the rusting staircases for a few minutes. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped, and the late afternoon sun soaked the run-down apartment complex where they had lived for the last three years. Their neighbor of two years stuttered into the community payphone. Out on the metal steps, she tried to stop the bleeding from the bullet wounds in his chest a blanket from their bed.

_The wind chimes tingli-i-i-in'_

_teeengehli-i-i-in'_

_tingli-i-i-in'_

_TEEN-ga-li-i-i-innn…_

Another great gust of cool wind blew in and smattered them with dirt and leaves. Thunder rolled so loud that he could barely hear the record playing just a few feet away.

_Da do do da do do da do do da do do_

She said something, something in Swedish. Wiped the snot off Her face. She said something else and kissed his cheek. His head rested in her lap. Their neighbor came out, telling them about the police and an ambulance in between her wheezing, then ran down the stairs and out of the complex to flag them down. More neighbors poked their heads out of their windows, their doors, to see what was the matter, what had caused the noise.

_Whi-i-i-i-isperin' winds send my wi-i-i-i-ind chimes a tinklin'_

"Luffy?" she whimpered when he closed his eyes. She kissed him again, but he didn't open his eyes. She pushed harder on the wounds, to stop the blood, to stop—

_Whi-i-i-i-isperin' winds send my wi-i-i-i-ind chimes a tinklin'_

His eyes partly opened, but he couldn't see anymore.

_Whi-i-i-i-isperin' winds send my wi-i-i-i-ind chimes a tinklin'_

_Whi-i-i-i-isperin' winds send my wi-i-i-i-ind chimes a tinklin'_


	2. Chapter 2: The Ride

**A/N Songs credits: "Wild Honey" and "Vegetables" by the Beach Boys, "Bad Moon" by Creedence Clearwater Revival and "Mack the Knife" by Louis Armstrong**

**Also, I'm going by the nationalities that Oda set for the crew if they lived in the real world. So no, these are not made by random! XD Plus, I used a iGoogle translate for the Portuguese, so if you understand Portuguese and the translator screwed up the message, please let me know so I can correct it. **

One Year Before The Tragedy

"Oi, look Nami!" said Luffy in Portuguese, "A letter from Grandpa and Ace!"

"That's nice, Luffy," she told him as she stuffed another sandwich in her already near-to-bursting backpack.

"I'll read it to you. _Dear Luffy and Nami. Hope this reaches you before you've left for New York._"

"Just in time," she said as she took her Beatles record off the turntable.

"_Wish we could come up and see you, but things are bustling now. As you've probably heard—_Blah, boring political stuff, blah," he tossed the next few pages, "Ok, here's the rest." His eyes scrolled down the letter, growing more and more confused until, "Ack! It's in English! Translate for me, please!"

Nami glared at him and he stopped poking her shoulder with the letter. "You've been living here for two years now. You know how to read English," she scolded.

"But you can read it better! You went to a fancy Swedish school that taught it, not me!"

"Your grandpa, brother, and I have all been teaching you English, lazy idiot," she said and grabbed the letter from him, "Fine, I guess I'll translate. _Min idiot sonson, skriv nästa brev på engelska_—"

"I can't understand your crazy Swedish!"

She smacked him over the head with the letter, "I'm sorry, you should have said you wanted it translated in Portuguese!"

_HONK HONK HONK_

"YO!" Franky called from outside.

Luffy scambled outside, leaned over the railing and yelled back, "HALLO, FRANKY!"

"You and Nami-Sis ready to go?"

"Uh…" Luffy turned around and asked her in Portuguese, "Ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she sighed and brushed the crumbs off her yellow tie-dyed dress, "You get the backpack, 'k?"

"Yup, yup," he grunted as he strapped on the enormous pack, slapped on his straw hat, and marched out of the little room.

She grabbed the bongos and the tambourine, petted her orange tree one last time, then left and locked the door, hiding the key under her doormat for their next-door neighbor Woop Slap to find so he could water her tree. She rushed after Luffy, who was hopping down the metal steps two at a time and shouting, "WOODSTOCK! WOODSTOCK!"

_Oh mama she's sweeter_

_(Sweeter) Gettin' sweeter_

_Sweeter, sweeter!_

_Swe-e-e-e-e-et!_

Music flooded from the bed of the '44 Ford pickup as it cruised on the interstate highway bound for New York. The Ford was owned and driven by a Japanese-American man named Zoro who came down from Owens Valley to San Francisco to pick up Franky and their old school-mate Sanji, but he wasn't aware that he was picking up Luffy and Nami too.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Zoro growled at Franky, "I don't have room for them."

"We'll all go in the back," Franky explained, patting the wooden frame of the bed, "and play music all the way to Woodstock!"

"It'll be fun! Lots of fun!" said Luffy, already rapping his bongos.

"C'mon, Zoro, you wouldn't disappoint a cute chick, would you?" said Sanji as he threw a purple-nylon-covered arm around Nami, then he winked at her, "Or should I call you a fox, hunny?"

"Neither," she answered and punched him and his rose-colored glassed fifty feet away from her.

"All right, they can come along," Zoro said.

Now he was beginning to regret letting them ride, because the gang sang nothing but Beach Boys songs for the last few days of their trip. He let out a sigh of relief when they finished "Wild Honey," but his blood-pressure skyrocketed when heard the Brazilian boy shout out, "Let's sing 'I Get Around!'"

Screeching to a sudden halt, the company and their instruments in the bed of the truck nearly flew out and onto the boiling black street. The car behind them blared its horn as it dodged the truck and rushed down the rest of the I-80. The old hippie named Brook fell over on Luffy and Nami, Sanji rolled over and smacked the back window of the truck, and Franky nearly broke one of the wooden frames by grappling it so tight as to not fall over.

"Pardon me, pardon me," Brook apologized as he pushed himself up and off of the couple, then commented, "Oh, what lovely panties you have, Miss Nami!"

As Nami promptly pummeled Brook into the floor, Sanji banged on the rear window and roared, "Hey, shit-driver! Are you trying to get us killed or somethin'?"

The old metal door squeaked opened and slammed shut. The truck jiggled and creaked as Zoro climbed up on the frame. They were silent as Zoro stared down each and every one of them, a whistling breeze playing with his green sideburns. Franky pushed his sunglasses up farther on the bridge of his nose. Sanji flicked his cigarette over Zoro's shoulder and lit another. Brook opened his mouth to laugh and break the tense silence, but nothing came out. Nami glared back at Zoro, and Luffy picked his nose.

"If I hear one more Beach Boys song," said Zoro, "I'm turning this truck around and heading back to California."

"BUT WE'RE IN WYOMING!" the rest shrieked with surprise.

"And I don't live in California!" Brook pointed out.

Zoro pointed at Brook, "I don't mind dumping you back at Salt Lake."

"But I live in New York."

"Can we still play our instruments?" Luffy asked and tapped his bongos again.

"Just—" Zoro scratched his head, "Just take a break with the music until—"

_BEEEEEEP!_ wailed another car as it zoomed around the truck.

"Until we set up camp tonight." He finished, completely ignoring the car.

"Hey, you can't tell us not to sing!" Sanji pounded the roof of the car.

"And you can't go back to California," Franky chuckled, "You want to go to Woodstock as much as we do."

Zoro sighed, "Then I'll just dump you all here and I'll go to Woodstock."

He observed them all again for any objections, then sank out of view. The engine sputtered and coughed before continuing on the long journey to New York. In the bed, the company sat with their backs pushed against the wooden frame. Brook rolled up the long sleeves of his striped shirt and wiped the glistening sweat off his arms, then let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know what he'd do if the Japanese man were serious and had left him there in the middle of nowhere.

"Don't worry, he wasn't going to abandon us," said Franky thumbed the strings of his guitar.

"Eh? But I didn't say anything!" Brook stammered.

"Oh hey!" Luffy cried out, "Why were you in Salt Lake if you live in New York?"

"He already told us that," Nami groaned, "Weren't you paying attention when we first met him?"

"No," Luffy and Franky answered.

"Hey never listens on the job site, Nami-Sis," Franky explained, "He ain't gonna start listening now."

"That's perfectly all right, I love telling the story!" said Brook, "You see, it all started when I was born in Austria. It was a lovely time, especially my music lessons from my old neighbor. How I loved my music lessons, and the parties, and the food, and the panties—"

"Then what happened?" Nami interrupted with a scowl on her face.

"Well, we left Austria when I was ten in…1938 I believe."

"Why'd you leave? I thought you liked it there!" Luffy pointed out.

"Oh yes, I did like it there. But I had to leave. So did some of the neighborhood boys that I lived with too. So, we ran away from Austria and managed to travel all the way to New York with nothing but our instruments and the clothes on our backs! And that's how we made our living for a while—playing in subway stations, parks, you name it. Then came the War and the older boys were drafted," then he paused for a moment and sighed, "None of them came back."

"You weren't drafted yourself?" Sanji asked.

"Oh, well, I never signed up for the draft when I turned eighteen."

"But then you can't become a citizen!" Nami gasped.

Franky lifted up his sunglasses, "You can't?"

"No, that's why I had Luffy sign up for the draft when we first moved here."

"And he hasn't been called up yet?" Brook asked, eyebrows raised.

"No," Luffy said.

"Yes you were, you were called three times."

"I was?"

"Even I remember that, Luffy!" Franky chided, "You had to miss work for it and I had to pick up your slack!"

"Then why wasn't he sent over?" Sanji asked as he tossed his cigarette over the rail, "He seems physically fit for the job."

"Every time he went to the military doctor's," she answered, her face completely flushed, "they sent him back saying he was mentally unfit to be soldier. After the third examination…I think that was a year ago, we stopped getting those types of telegrams."

Everyone suffered from an infectious fit of giggles and chortles. Laughing, Sanji added, "Hey, it's better than my excuse. They called me in one time, told them I was gay, and that was that. Never got a call to duty again."

This had them rolling by now, even Zoro, who had the window rolled down and a folded arm resting on the window frame.

"It only took the one time?" Zoro yelled back.

Sanji shrugged, "I guess a Frenchman living in San Francisco is a telltale sign."

"Wouldn't exactly call you a Frenchman, Sanji," Franky laughed, "You moved here when you were, what, five? You don't even know any French!"

"I know enough to get what I want," then he kneeled next to Nami and said, "Voudriez-vous du fromage?"

"I like Portuguese better," she sniffed, then grinned and said, "Desculpe francês!"

His eyes became hearts as he swooned, "Ah, what a beautiful language spoken from such a beautiful girl!"

"Ele sabe Português também?" Luffy asked Nami with a great smile on his face.

She shook her head, and that's when Franky piped up, "C'mon now! We haven't finished Brook's story yet."

"We haven't?" Brook asked, then he knocked on his forehead, "Oh right, we haven't! So, the few of us that decided not to sign up for the draft decided to go west to see if we could make more than we have in New York. One guy stayed behind, Laboon, and he said he'd wait for us to become famous music stars. Well, by the time we got to Arizona, we were a moderately good hit. And the war was over, which was good.

But now we were getting older, and I ended up as the only band member without a wife and children! And we were in a rut, and my friends had families now that they had to take care of. They needed stabler jobs, needed citizenship, you know. The band had to break up. So I picked up what I had, mailed Laboon, who's still in New York, and since then I've been walking and hitch-hiking to New York since." Brook clasped his hands and continued, "How glad I am to have run into with you all in Salt Lake City! I will be able to get to New York much faster now! And better yet—to Woodstock! A pity my band won't be playing, but it seems like it would be a most splendid show!"

"Three full days of nothing but music?" said Sanji as he took a drag, "It'll be more than splendid."

Franky folded his arms behind his head, "It'll be a trip, that's for sure."

"Maybe you'll meet some of your friends there," Luffy's eyes grew wide, "It'd be nice to see them again, eh?"

"Well, it'll be nice to see Laboon again, but no one else is going. They're all much too busy with their families."

Nami rested her head on Luffy's shoulder and closed her eyes. Only the rumbling hum of the truck and the crackle and crunch of stray pebbles on the road spoke for the next few minutes. Zoro hit the door of his truck at moderate, rhythmic intervals and began to sing in a throaty voice:

_I see—a bad—moon—arisin'_

_I see—trouble—on the way_

Franky took out his guitar and strummed the melody, Sanji and Brook clapped in time as Luffy followed the rhythm with his bongos, and they all continued singing:

_I see—earth—quakes and lightnin'_

_I see—bad—times today_

_Don't go 'round toni-ight_

_Well it's bound to take your li-ife_

_The-e-e-e-ere's a bad moon—on the rise_

By the time they reached Indiana, they had picked up an eloping couple walking hand-in-hand along the I-80. The black man in the colorful poncho and tea sunglasses called himself Usopp, and his wife Kaya, was a bird-like white girl in a long, blue summer dress. They didn't talk much about themselves on the car ride (they were too exhausted), but then Zoro stopped for the night at a small gas station and diner in the middle of Indiana.

The owner, named Cobra, and his daughter Vivi pushed together four of their small wooden square tables for their seven guests.

"Finally, some real food!" Franky cried out, "Oi! Bring out as many hamburgers and colas you can!"

And so the two brought mountains and mountains of the stuff. And as they all ate, Usopp and Kaya felt more inclined to talk.

"My stepfather always said that Woodstock is the 'Kingdom of Fools,'" Kaya said as she dipped a fry in ketchup. "But that'd make the perfect place for a honeymoon, and the start of our new life!"

"Oh, so you're already married?" asked Franky.

Usopp shook his head. "Nope, we're going to get our marriage license in New York," Then he laughed. "We'll be the poorest couple in all of New York!"

"How frightening!" squeaked Vivi, who was cleaning a table nearby theirs. Stiffly she turned around and said, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

Sanji pulled up a chair and smiled. "We don't mind a pretty lady like you sitting with us."

The blue-haired girl blushed and sat in the chair. "Isn't it scary, though, traveling across the country when you're…um…" She pulled on the edge of her pink-striped skirt.

Kaya smiled warmly at her. "That's why we're eloping in the first place! My stepfather has too many 'friends' nearby my old home who could hurt Usopp."

"Are you going to stay in New York then?" asked Zoro as he took a sip of a sake from a bottle he brought all the way from Owens Valley.

Usopp scratched the back of his head. "Well, maybe for a little while, until we save enough to go to France."

"FRANCE?" they gasped.

"I'm French, you know," snickered Sanji.

"Ah, really?" Kaya said. "Then you know why we want to go!"

"Because France is a romantic place?" asked Vivi.

Kaya giggled. "Well, yes, that too. But from what we heard, the French don't mind couples like us as much like they do here."

"Maybe you guys should come to France too!" Usopp waved his hands at Nami and Luffy.

Nami smiled. "Sounds nice, but we really like California, too. You should live there first and see how you like it before you move to France."

"You can stay with us!" Luffy chirped.

"Oh, can we?" chimed Kaya and Usopp.

"No," said Nami, "not enough room. But I'm sure there's a couple of cheap places you can rent."

"And I could find you some work," said Franky. "What do you do?"

Usopp ducked under the table and pulled a saxophone out of the battered suitcase he refused to leave in the truck. "I'm a musician!"

"Oh, so am I!" Brook clapped his hands. "And I live in New York as well. Maybe you can stay with me and Laboon until I get back on my feet."

"Thank you!" Usopp said, "Boy, we sure we lucky meeting such nice people!"

"Oh yes, very lucky!" Kaya nodded.

"But first, Woodstock, and then we'll figure out what to do."

The group continued to stuff their faces. After a few minutes of nothing but chewing, snorting, and slurping, Vivi mumbled, "Can I come too?"

She had spoken so quietly that no one heard her through their chewing and gabbing. Vivi took in a deep breath and said a little louder, "Can I come too?"

The table quieted and Vivi stood up.

"I have some money saved up and my dad can wire me more if I need it. Just let me know how much you need so I can come with you all!"

"Can you play an instrument?" Luffy asked.

"An instrument? Well…I…I have a clay flute, but I'm not very good—"

"That's good enough for me. You can come with us!"

"R-Really?"

"Hey!" Zoro scowled. "You aren't the driver, Luffy, you can't decide these things."

"You seem nice, of course you can come," said Franky.

"I can have another girl to talk to!" Nami squealed.

"I can have another girl to look at!" Sanji sighed.

"And on the way, I can teach you how to play your flute better," said Brook.

"OI! WHAT DID I JUST SAY?" Zoro screamed, then lowered his voice when he spoke to Vivi. "You look kind of young, kid. How old are you?"

Vivi's face fell. "Sixteen."

Zoro rubbed his chin. "Well, I'll only take you if you get your father's permission by tomorrow morning."

"Aww, we're leaving that early, Zoro?" Luffy whined.

"Ok, it's a deal. He's sleeping now, though, so I'll ask him tomorrow morning."

And so the group finished eating and helped Vivi clean up so she could go to bed early as well—they would have an early morning again. Even though Vivi said that they could sleep inside the restaurant, the crew laid out their blankets on the grass and slept comfortably outside in the warm night.

It was just before Luffy was about to nod off himself when Nami squeezed his arm to wake him.

"Luffy?" she whispered in his ear.

"Yeah?" he answered sleepily and rubbed his eyes.

"I was thinking about what Kaya and Usopp were saying about starting their new life at Woodstock."

Luffy remained quiet, but his eyes were open now and staring up at the starry sky.

"Do you think that maybe…maybe we should start our lives there too?"

"We're already married."

"I don't mean that."

More silence. Nami pressed her forehead against his shoulder.

"Luffy, we're getting older—"

"I know."

Luffy rubbed his face and could almost see the small wrinkles around his eyes and mouth in his mind's eye. He had been staring at them for the last couple of years as he washed his face and brushed his teeth in front of the mirror. Most of the time he ignored it, would look at Nami instead through the reflection of the mirror, but he started to notice little things too. Little things that suggested that she wasn't the nineteen-year-old, study-abroad student he met in Brazil six years ago anymore.

Fear clenched his stomach when he thought about it, because he knew it wouldn't be long before skin started to sag and bones began to ache and mysterious spots would crop up all over his arms and he'd start looking like his grandpa. But it wasn't that that bothered him. Getting old was one thing, becoming an adult was another. And to get like an adult, you had to have—

"Luffy?"

He turned his head and noticed that Nami was watching him with stern eyes. Adult eyes. She was definitely an adult, and he still felt like he was eighteen, like a kid. But he was twenty-four now, and he was with Nami. He knew that he couldn't be a kid anymore.

So he touched her forehead with his and smiled.

"Sure, why not?" he said.

Shocked, Nami stammered, "What?"

She remembered when she last brought up the subject, and he said that they weren't ready for it yet. Thinking back on it, they weren't financially ready for it, but Nami knew he didn't care for money at all. He then dug out a half-inflated soccer ball and took it outside to kick around in the courtyard. Watching him play from the railing, Nami slowly came to understand what he meant by 'not being ready.'

But the conversation happened a few months ago, so maybe during that time…

"I think it'll be the most fun we've had in a while."

Breathless, Nami answered. "I think so too."

"So, we try during Woodstock?"

Nami nodded. "Then we'll have nine months to get ready."

Woodstock. Luffy silently promised himself that he would do more for Nami, be more of an adult, once Woodstock was over. Luffy rubbed his face once more.

"I know, I'm scared too…" Nami sighed and kissed his shoulder.

"Me? Not at all!" Luffy chuckled, "I'm just excited."

"Then why are your legs shaking?"

"My legs always shake when I'm excited."

She laughed and put an arm across his chest. "Ok, I believe you."

"Bye, Dad!" Vivi shouted and waved to her father as the truck continued its way up the I-80, "Thanks again for letting me go!"

"Don't forget to call!" Cobra called back, but was soon a speck in the landscape.

Vivi sat down between Kaya and Nami and sighed, "Finally, and adventure of my own!"

"Your dad must've been pretty baked to let you go with a group of strangers to Woodstock!" Franky laughed.

"Hey, don't go insultin' the lady's father!" Sanji hissed at Franky.

"Ah, but he brings up a good point," said Usopp, "Haven't you heard of all the terrible murderers who prey on young girls by offering them a ride?"

"Usopp, stop," Kaya scolded.

"Murderers?" Vivi peeped.

Usopp took out his flashlight and turned it on below his face, which looked even eerier in the early morning light. "They scan the highways to find wandering, lonesome young girls with little worldly experience and pick them up to 'give them a hand.' Little do they know, a rusty old chainsaw lies in the trunk so they can chop up—"

Sanji, Nami and Kaya bopped Usopp on the head and yelled, "Quit scaring her!"

"B-B-But y-you aren't m-murderers that are going to ch-chop me up, are you?" whimpered Vivi.

"Of course we aren't, Vivi. We sing too much to be murderers!" Luffy laughed.

"I'll say," Zoro grumbled.

"How about you start with a song, Vivi?" Franky said and took out his guitar.

"Me? Well, I don't know. I don't sing very well…"

"C'mon, we'll all sing together!" said Usopp as he took out his saxophone.

At this point Luffy was rapping his knuckles against his bongos and Nami dusted off her tambourine. Even Brook took out his violin and started to tune it.

"Well, I guess I'll sing…um…" Vivi stammered, then grew red and smiled. "It's one of my favorite songs as a child. Do you mind?"

"Sing, sing!"

Vivi giggled and started to sing:

_Oh, the shark, has,_

_pretty teeth, dear_

_And he shows them, a-pearly white_

_Just a jackknife, has macheath-dear_

_And he keeps it, out of sight!_

"Ah, I know this song!" Brook said, then sang with the rest of the group:

_On the side-walk,_

_Sunday morning,_

_Lies a body…oozing life!_

Zoro couldn't believe it. After days and days of driving and not picking up any new hitchhikers, he saw the sign that read that they were finally passing the New York state border.

"Wa-hoo!" Luffy cheered and stood in the bed and looked over the front of the truck, "We're almost there!"

"I don't see Woodstock, yet," said Vivi, who popped up next to Luffy.

"It'll be there in a little while, just be patient," said Nami as she popped on Luffy's other side, but her hands were quivering with excitement.

Sanji stood up next to Vivi. "Just a few more hours…"

"I can barely contain myself!" shouted Franky, "This is SUPER!"

"Can we stop to get out marriage license first?" asked Kaya.

"I'm sure they have a drive-thru or something," said Usopp.

"I'm so happy to be back that I could sing!" Brook cried.

"Hey, great idea! Let's give New York and song all the way from California!" Luffy shouted and began to sing:

_I'm gonna be 'round my vege-ta-bles_

_I'm gonna chow down my vege-ta-bles_

_I love you MOST of all!_

To everyone's surprise, Zoro began to sing with Luffy as well. Their instruments packed away, the others began to sing as well, albeit not as well-synced as the Beach Boys.

_I'm gonna keep well, my vegetables_

_I'm gonna cart off and sell, my vegetables_

_I—love you most of all!_

_My favorite vegetables!_

And so the group drove into New York while singing the nonsensical, light-hearted song, with only a few days away until the start of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair.


End file.
